Group recommends targeting CER for priority populations

Federal agencies should target comparative effectiveness research funds for studies involving racial and ethnic minorities, children, women, the elderly and people with multiple chronic conditions, the Brookings Institution's Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform says. The center's draft report recommends government organizations that support CER "allocate research funds to meritorious investigator-initiated proposals that are responsive to priority populations, and create targeted funding opportunities to fill gaps." The health care reform Congress enacted in March requires CER and gives oversight to a federal institute operating in a public/private partnership mode (1"The Tan Sheet" April 19, 2010). The draft notes research does not focus enough on conditions that affect priority populations, and priority populations typically are not recruited for trials. Another problem is the clinical trials infrastructure is not set up to allow for more participation from members of priority groups